Timelines
by Door Temple and Arch
Summary: The team tries to save Artie and the world from the sweating sickness that has been unleashed. But at what cost? Eventual Bering & Wells
1. Chapter 1

AN: So this is my first story. It's been running through my head as of late and instead of writing my senior thesis, I've decided that this is a better use of my time. Let me know what you think or if it's worth continuing. Thanks!

* * *

_Everything is wrong. Everything._ Mkya thought as she continued to stare out of the window of the helicopter that Mrs. Frederic had arranged to pick all of them up from the mill. Everyone – Claudia, Steve, even Pete –were still stunned into silence. Artie's body was on a gurney next to them, dagger still in place.

_Artie was evil. Claudia stabbed Artie. Artie killed Leena. Artie has killed us all. Or at least he will have once this sweating disease progresses. What the hell are we going to do?_

"What's that Mykes?" Pete asked in a somewhat hollow voice. His blank face spoke to how much this was affecting him. For once it seemed like his humor wouldn't make an appearance to try and alleviate the situation. That thought somehow made the situation seem even more grave than before.

_Damn, I said that out loud._ "I said "what the hell are we going to do?", Pete." Claudia and Steve look up at her and she makes eye contact with each of them. "What are we going to do?" she says again, this time in a softer voice, almost muttering to herself.

Pete took a deep breath, probably trying to steady himself, or give him extra time to think or just for the sake of being able to breathe for a second after the past few days of madness and said," We'll think of something guys. We have to. We work for the Warehouse and we've come back from so much. We'll figure it out…we have to", he trailed off.

"What if we can't? What if we can't fix this?! I, I..I STABBED Artie. And there's a deadly plague about to kill half the frakking people on this planet! How are we going to fix this!?" Claudia was near hysterics now and breathing rapidly, alternating between gesturing wildly and running her hands through her short locks.

"Claudia, calm down. Just breathe. Claudia. CLAUDIA!", Steve shouted at her, grabbing her by her shoulders and looking her square in the eyes. "It'll be all right. It'll be all right. We can do this. You had to stop him Claudia, you had to. Shhh, it'll be okay, just breathe." By this point Steve was holding a sobbing Claudia in his arms, with one hand rubbing her back gently, just trying to calm her down.

_C'mon Myka. You can't be shell shocked right now. You have to keep it together. For Claudia, for the world….ugh not a helpful thought. _"They're right Claudia. We'll get to the airport, get back to the Warehouse and talk to Mrs. Frederic. She'll have some idea of what to do and there has to be something in our attic of endless wonder that can help us...there's got to be", she added quietly enough that she was the only one who heard it. It seemed to help though as Claudia looked up from Steve's now wet t-shirt and simply nodded at her while sniffling and wiping her tears away.

_There's got to be…_

* * *

The helicopter pilot had dropped them off on an approved landing pad at the airport and told them that he would be taking care of Artie's body, since they very well couldn't take it on the plane with them without some very creative lying. A quick call on the Farnsworth to Mrs. Frederic had confirmed that Artie would be "arriving at the Warehouse by…unconventional methods" and to leave it at that. Claudia was upset by this but assurances from the rest of the group were enough to get her onto the commercial flight that would take them to New York and then onto South Dakota.

"How are we getting back to the Warehouse, Mrs. F?" asked Myka. "We don't have a car sitting in the lot...though I guess we could just rent –"

"You'll be picked up by another Warehouse affiliated agent, Agent Bering." Mrs. Frederic interrupted. "They'll take you back to the Warehouse for a briefing and we can discuss possible plans for what has happened. Quickly now, or you'll be late for your flight." With that Mrs. Frederic cut the connection.

"LAST CALL FOR FLIGHT 485, LAST CALL FOR FLIGHT 485" sounded over the intercom.

"She is so scary when she does that. Like how does she know? How?" Pete just looked around to all of them with exasperation but no one bothered to even begin to answer him. It seemed the Pete was starting to feel better, probably because there was a plan, as he started to use Claudia and Steve as sounding boards for his increasingly crazy ideas. "Like she's all knowing and can practically read minds and…."

_This is going to be a long flight. _Myka just put her Farnsworth away and jogged up ahead to catch up with the rest of her team as they handed over their tickets at the terminal. _A long flight indeed. _

* * *

The flight was hell on everybody. One layover and 14 hours later they found themselves exhausted in the airport. No one had been able to sleep on the flight, all too busy mulling over the last few days and seeing if they could come up with any ideas to fix things.

_None so far. I hope the Regents have something up their sleeves. _Myka and the rest had fortunately not checked any luggage and received a slight reprieve by not having to wait by the carousel for their bags.

_It's the little things I guess. _Myka thought to herself while looking around. They were all dead on their feet and she really just wanted to find whoever was picking them up so she could get some sleep, eventually, tonight.

"Do you see anyone holding a Warehouse sight?" Steve asked. After being met with incredulous stares he quickly replied, "Jeeze, sorry. I'm exhausted okay. I'm sure whoever is driving us back will know what we look like and will come get us."

"You're right it's probably a Regent or one of Mrs. F's lackeys or something. I hope they're not expecting to control the rad…." Pete rambled on. But Myka had stopped listening. She had seen dark hair moving through the crowd toward them. Unmistakable inky black hair framing a face she hadn't seen in person in a long time.

_Too long of a time. _"Helena…" Myka whispered.

The woman that had disappeared from their lives all those months ago. _Disappeared from my life all those months ago_. Was standing right in front of them.

"Hello Darling", She said to Myka first, maintaining eye contact for several seconds too long._ Is she actually here?_, Myka thought. She stared right back at Helena, a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue, staying there, being chased back by her own surprise at seeing this woman again.

"And hello to the rest of you. I am sorry that our reunion had to be under such…unfortunate and tragic circumstances." Helena gave everyone a rueful smile. "Come along then. The car is idling outside and despite how eager to assist the Secret Service the young officer was, I doubt they appreciate the car remaining there for too long."

The group trudged towards the exit but not before giving a chorus of welcome to H.G. and an emotional Claudia wrapping her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're back. We'll definitely figure this out now."

Helena just smiled at this and gestured for them to go to the car. She hung back slightly and fell into step with Myka. "You are particularly silent Myka. Is there anything the matter? Besides the obvious that is?"

_I missed you. I missed you so much and now you're here and everything is going wrong and where have you been, why did you have to leave, why didn't you say goodbye – _"No, nothing is wrong. Let's get out there before they fall asleep on the side of the car" Myka responded.

"Very well, darling." Helena paused. "It is truly lovely to see you again Myka. I..I missed our talks and your presence" She looked at Myka as they continue to walk and looked as if she wanted to say more but held her tongue and looked away almost…bashfully?

_Interesting. Bashful isn't something you see on Helena Wells very often. Focus Myka, she said she missed you…_

"I missed you too Helena. Very much. We have a lot to talk about...I have so many questions" Myka answered truthfully.

"Indeed, I am sure you do. I will do my best to answer them all in turn. But for now let us get back to the Warehouse." Helena said as she climbed into the driver's seat. Myka had been left the passenger's seat, with the others piling into the back of the large SUV Helena had brought. Usually all of them would fight for shotgun but Myka was appreciative that they let her have the seat. They were all already beginning to doze in the back seats, exhaustion finally having caught up with them.

"Let's go" _Back into the fire. At least Helena is here to brave it with us. Here to brave it with me….get it together Myka. School girl crushes are not going to help us save the world. _But Myka knew it was more than that. Much more. Helena glanced over as she was buckling her seat belt and gave her one of her full smiles. One of the ones that lit up her eyes and was sincere, not the fake smile she presented to other people.

_I am in so much trouble…_


	2. Chapter 2

"So you've been protecting and hiding the astrolabe all these months?"

The others were asleep in the back of the SUV, having drifted off rather quickly during the long car ride back to Univille. Despite being exhausted, Myka found herself unable to sleep, her mind just wouldn't shut off.

"Hmm yes. I have been hiding out….in various places, over the last few months. It is rather nice actually. To not be on the run that is." responding to the eyebrow arch Myka sent her. "I have been moving quickly, never staying in one place for too long ever since I left."

"Yeah you left pretty abruptly. No warning to any of us or explanations…or goodbyes." Myka knew she should stop. _She was on a mission assigned to her by the Regents, doing important work, doing her duty. Sometimes goodbyes just don't fit in the equation. It's not as if she owes us anything. But I mean we were practically her family here and I thought we meant something to her. I thought I meant somethi-_

"Myka I have regretted that every day since leaving" Helena said interrupting Myka's thoughts. "You have to know how important…all of you are to me. But unfortunately the circumstances of the situation lent themselves to my speedy exit. As you know, both Mrs. Frederic and I, the Warehouse even, had a lot invested in protecting the astrolabe. I am sorry my dear. I would have said goodbye if I had been able. I was also forbidden from communicating with any of you. Mum's the word and all that." Helena had been alternating between keeping her eyes on the empty South Dakota road and looking earnestly at Myka. Despite speaking in a hushed voice, Myka could hear the sincerity in her words and found it difficult to stay upset at her.

_Hell she tried to destroy the world and I still couldn't stay upset with her. I don't have a chance now. _

"I understand, don't worry. It just…hurt you know? I…We all missed you a lot but I do understand. There's nothing to be sorry for. Besides, I mean from what I understand, you saved us. You saved Artie, Pete and I from that infernal bomb Sykes had. Even if it didn't happen in this timeline, you still did it. We owe you a lot." Myka was gazing at with eyes she was sure shone with the emotions she felt for the author.

"Indeed, apparently I did. I remember some of that timeline. Those final moments, just snippets here and there but I do remember…" She trailed off.

Myka stared at her and saw that her lips were pursed and she was smiling what Myka had dubbed her "rueful" smile. _Maybe she's remembering what happened. It has to have been hard to do that. To save us and sacrifice herself._

"Why did you do that by the way? I know that it didn't actually happen to the _you_ that is here right now but surely you know? Not that I'm not grateful or anything and I mean I know you're a good person and all – you know that right?- Anyway I just thought it was so incredible and I just wanted to know why…" Myka had realized that she was rambling by now and decided to stop talking.

Helena remained silent, just looking out of the front window. A few minutes passed in silence with nothing but the sound of the car and Pete's gentle snoring in the background to disrupt the awkward silence that had befallen them.

"I'm sorry Helena, I shouldn't have brought it up. It has to be an awkward thing to talk about and you still remember and I was being insensitive and-"

"Myka, Myka my dear it is fine. I apologize for not responding for so long. I was caught in my own musings it seems….It is rather difficult to talk about. I…" She drifted off again. Myka continued to wait patiently. If Helena wanted to talk about this, then Myka would wait and listen.

"I think it came down to the fact that I knew that I could save you…all, even if it was at the cost of my own life. After all, why should I live, a women displaced in time, perpetrator of many an evil deed when someone like you…and Artie and Pete could live in my stead? I remember it being a very easy decision actually. I remember the approval of the warehouse at the very end. I smelled apples…" she finished wistfully.

"You're not an evil person Helena, everything you did was when you were in the depths of your guilt and you weren't able to commit that final blow in Yellowstone because you are a good person. You have to know that- Wait…you could've saved yourself? That's what you implied, you could've saved yourself couldn't you have?" Myka ended rather indignantly.

_It wasn't a choice between letting all of us die or just her, it was a choice between us or her. _

Myka didn't know why but that thought upset her more than anything.

"Yes darling. I seem to remember having the option to put up the barrier around the 3 or you or just myself. The barrier did have to be activated from outside of it but the wielder of the cables could've put up a smaller barrier around themselves. It would not have fit all 4 of us, I am afraid. As I said, it was not a very difficult decision."

"Helena! It's just that you…you… I don't even know! We weren't worth that sacrifice. Not when you had the option of saving yourself…"

"Of course you were! You have always been worth the sacrifice Myka. You are a force for good in the world. And I could not imagine living in a world without you. It would…it is not a world I would want to be a part of." By this point Helena's gaze was locked on the road in front of her, the author's hands gripping the wheel tightly.

_And I can't imagine a world without you in it. Is she hinting to what I think she is? I let her die not knowing how I felt before. And now we're here again. At another world altering impasse and I'm still scared. I have to let her know. I have to tell her how I-_

"Helena...you…you're so important to me. You have to know that." Myka looked into the back of the car at her sleeping teammates and then back towards Helena. "Helena…I'm in lo-"

"Don't. Myka just don't. Please. I am not certain about what you are going to say but whatever it is please don't say it. I…it will just complicate things. It will make things harder…Now please, get some rest. We have about another hours drive until we get to the Warehouse. Please, sleep." Helena's voice had gotten a bit of a panicky edge to it by the end of her outburst and Myka was stunned.

Myka took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'll get some rest. I…I'm sorry I brought it up." Myka looked out of the passenger window.

They both pretended Helena couldn't hear her sniffling or see the tears that ran down her face.


	3. Chapter 3

The SUV pulled up to the Warehouse about an hour later, at almost 10:30. Helena shut off the car and looked over at Myka, who had by now stopped crying and was just staring out at the empty landscape surrounding them.

"We should wake them. There is a lot to discuss." Helena said, voice finally breaking the silence. Myka nodded but said nothing, choosing to make eye contact with Helena instead.

_I offer her my heart and she just pushes me away. I was so sure she cared. I guess this really was one sided….but she flirted with me! Those touches, the eye contact, god that smile. She led me on! C'mon Myka. She was never shy about her exploits and you knew she was a charmer. This is ridiculous! And now you probably seem crazy for just sitting here staring at her for so long-_

"Yeah", Myka said, breaking eye contact, "Yeah we should wake them." Myka could see Helena nod her head in her periphery and reach for her seatbelt.

Myka turned her head towards the occupants in the back seat, reaching over to shake Pete's knee, and said in a raised voice, "Guys it's time to wake up. We're here. C'mon Pete, wake up. Claudia, Steve you too. We're back at the Warehouse." Myka climbed out of the car, leaving her gear in the trunk and went around to the passenger doors, opening them up to better shake the team awake. Helena grabbed her bag from the back and glanced over at her.

"I'm going to head inside. See you in a few minutes."

Myka just nodded her head as Helena turned and walked away. By now the team was awake – albeit unwillingly and were grumbling about how tired they were.

"Maaaan I know this is urgent and everything but I'm so tired. Hopefully we get to hit the hay pretty soon because I don't know how much longer I'll be functional." Pete groused.

"You're hardly functional now. Hey ow! Steve!, What the frak was that for?" Claudia was rubbing her arm now where Steve had lightly punched it.

"Play nice. We're all tired and cranky but that's no reason to get on each other's cases." Steve answered with a grin, stepping away from Claudia quickly before she could retaliate.

_Steve, ever the peacemaker. Well we might as well head inside. Have to face the apocalyptic music sometime. _

"C'mon guys, let's head in. Quicker we talk about things the quicker we can get some sleep"

The others nodded or muttered affirmations in agreement and trudged towards the Warehouse entrance.

_Let's hope its endless wonder is enough to save us this time. _

* * *

When they walked into the main office, Mrs. Frederic and Jane were there waiting for them, standing calmly off on one side. Helena was sitting in one of the office chairs near them. Jane walked over and hugged her son tightly to her.

"I'm so glad you're all right…all of you." Jane said letting Pete go and turning towards all of them. "Please sit down, we have a lot to talk about."

"It's good to see you too mom but I'm not sure how all right we are…we failed. The flower thingy died and we're all infected with this sweating sickness. I mean, I feel fine right now but I'm sure that will change right?" Pete asked his gaze meeting Helena's and Mrs. Frederic's also.

"Yes Agent Lattimer, I am afraid that it will change." Mrs. Frederic answered.

"The sickness has an incubation period of about 72 hours. After that you will start to exhibit symptoms. From my research I estimate that about 1 in 3 people will succumb to the illness. It is…not a pleasant way to die either." Helena finished, having briefly glanced up to make eye contact with Myka before looking away.

"Okay. Okay…Well we can fix this right? Is there some kind of…I dunno panacea lying around the Warehouse. I mean even if it has some consequences, maybe we can deal with them?" Claudia was earnestly looking around the room, waiting for someone to confirm her hopes.

"Unfortunately no such artifact is here nor do we believe one exists in the world. We want to explore our options as much as we can before deciding on a course of action however. The Regents are currently looking for an answer and we want you four to research options as well. We obviously have a very limited time frame in which to figure something out and act on it." Mrs. Frederic's tone was grave, making eye contact with the four agents in the room.

"What aren't you telling us? You said options, as if there were already some on the table…what's going on?" Myka had stood up during this and was looking directly at Mrs. Frederic.

"Thank you Agent Bering for bringing me to my next point." Her pointed gaze caused Myka to blush after her outburst and she quickly sat back down. _Get it together Myka._

"We obviously cannot allow such a pandemic to occur. The effects on the world would be catastrophic and billions would die. If we cannot"

_She can't be serious_

"figure out a way to"

_No. No. This can't be happening. _Myka looked up at Helena who refused to meet her gaze.

"fix this and reverse the effects of the sickness or the destruction of the flower, we will be forced to destroy the astrolabe. It seems Artie was quite right, the Regents would never allow such a catastrophe to occur if it could be fixed."

Chaos ensued in the office.

"What?! No! You can't be for real!" "It'll turn back time by _months_! The Warehouse will stay destroyed!" "No, no there has to be another way. We'll figure something else out." "Jinksy would be DEAD!"

Claudia's last outburst overshadowed the rest and silence fell over the other two. Myka hadn't partaken in the shouting match. She was just looking down at her hands shell shocked.

_She'll be dead. A can't come back, no artifact to fix it, dead. They can't be serious. This isn't real. This can't be happen-_

"Actually Claudia, we suspect that you would resurrect Mr. Jinks in that timeline just as you did in this one. If we weren't able to stop you then, we probably wouldn't be able to stop you in this new world anyway. And as far as the Warehouse…no one wants to lose it but Warehouses have been destroyed and lost in the past. It will be difficult, for all of you but we would rebuild and in time you would move on." Jane answered. Myka could tell she was trying to comfort them but it wasn't enough.

"What about Helena…and Mrs. Frederic? They would be dead, with no way to bring them back. It…it's not fair…", the sadness in Myka's voice sobered the already saddened group. Everyone there knew how close Myka and Helena were, with speculation (especially between Claudia and Pete) about just how deep that closeness ran.

It was that moment in the forest all over again. _The cost is too high._

"Myka…It is a sacrifice that we have discussed and all deemed necessary. Both Mrs. Frederic and I would do this willingly. Please you have to underst-"

"If we cannot figure out another way to remedy the situation, this is our best option. Preferably before people start to die en masse. This is the world we are talking about people. Also think of Artie and even Leena, who would both be alive and well." A look of pain passed over Mrs. Frederic's face. "The Regents have decided if another answer can't be reached within the next 48 hours, that we will destroy the astrolabe then. That is final." Mrs. Frederic interrupted smoothly. Helena looked up at her, grateful that she had cut off the start of her emotional plea to Myka.

"The astrolabe is going to be placed in the Escher vault for safe keeping until then." Jane said, she and Mrs. Frederic moving towards the door to head down to the Warehouse floor. Helena picked up her bag and followed them, trying to ignore the haunted look Myka was wearing.

_I can't believe she didn't tell me. I can't believe she let me get blindsided by this. I…I could kill her! Is this why she pushed me away?! Because she thinks she's going to die?!...She's going to die. Or she's already died and she's going to stay dead? Because if we destroy the astrolabe then none of this ever happened so she wasn't living again and fuck time travel is confusing. I don't want to go back to a world she's not a part of. We've got to fix this…_

"I suggest you all start looking for alternatives to this plan. It is truly a last resort and if something else could be figured out that would be ideal. We'll return shortly and Jane and I will head out to meet with the Regents. Helena will stay and help with the research." Mrs. Frederic said over her shoulder after pausing in the doorway.

The door to the Warehouse floor closed behind them and the four agents looked at each other.

"We can't let this happen. We can't let H.G. and Mrs. Frederic die. There's got to be another way. I mean we've got all this at our fingertips" she said gesturing around. "We'll figure this out. We got to. We'll figure this out and everyone will be okay, alright Mykes?" Claudia finished. Claudia had noticed how quiet Myka was being and how lost in her own thoughts she was.

"Yeah we got this! C'mon time to go into research mode," Pete said cracking his knuckles. "Okay….now where do I start?"

"Frak Pete didn't you ever learn how to do a search on our mainframe? Let's start looking up artifacts we have from doctors and scientists and stuff and see if anything comes up? Maybe the regents missed something…."

"Or maybe we can combine a few artifacts or something." Steve chimed in.

The three of them hurriedly rushed to the computer where Claudia quickly took over.

_Comfortable as ever behind a computer monitor. _Myka thought, shaking her head while observing her teammates.

_We'll figure this out. We will. We'll find a way. I can't lose her, not now. Not after everything. _


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So my apologies for not updating for so long. I was working on my thesis and trying to graduate from college and (understandably, I think) that was a bit distracting. I also just got back from the Sasquatch festival in Washington. For those of you who don't know what that is I suggest you go look it up and be in awe of the lineup that was there this year. But I'm all done with that and can hopefully update more often now. Sorry if there are any mistakes. This is sort of a filler chapter to push the plot forward. More to come.

Also if you don't understand the _Tale of Two Cities_ references I suggest you sparknotes it or something. I figured most people were forced to read it in high school and would get the gist.

* * *

_What the hell is she looking at? _ Myka glanced over at Helena for what must have been the 10th time in the last half an hour and once again saw her gazing off into space at something between where Claudia was bent over the computer and where Pete was seated at the desk, obviously trying not to fall asleep. Helena's hands were fiddling with her locket per usual whenever she was deep in thought.

_She's probably just trying to think of a solution. _Myka thought. _She better be trying to think of a solution. _

Myka turned back to the Warehouse catalogue in front of her about medical miracles in the last two centuries and tried to find where she left off. She knew she had been about to turn the page when she had looked up but after scanning the text she realized she didn't remember any of it.

_So much for an eidetic memory…God I am so tired. _

"Guys I think we should call it a night. Or more accurately a morning. It's nearly 4 and I don't know about you all but I wouldn't be able to know if I found the solution right now, I can barely focus," Myka said, with all eyes, blearily, focusing on her.

"I agree with Myka. We're all obviously very tired and it would probably be best if we all went back to Lee…the Bed and Breakfast and got some sleep. We can start our research again after some well-deserved rest and a good meal." With that said Helena shuffled her papers – _That she hadn't even looked at-_ together and stood up. Claudia, Pete and Steve were soon to follow and let out mumbles of agreement as they packed up their stuff and walked towards the Umbilicus.

"I'll drive, I seem to be the least tired out of all of you," Helena said with a slight chuckle, taking in the appearances of the motley crew of agents.

Myka smiled gratefully at her and nodded as they approached the SUV outside and proceeded to pile in. Again the other agents let Myka have shotgun, content to relax in the back seat. The others had picked up on the slight tension between the two, attributing it to the fact that Helena had essentially announced she would be dying in less than 48 hours.

_Not if I can help it. We'll go get some sleep and be ready to go tomorrow and we'll figure all this out. _

* * *

A little while later the team pulled up to the B&B and walked inside. No one had been talking during the drive or the walk up to the door but still, a strange silence seem to overcome them when they stood inside the foyer.

"It feels so weird without her here to greet us…" Claudia trailed off.

Pete nodded and said, "I know Claude but…we all know the risks of this job…Leena included. Who knows, maybe we can save her to? Without destroying the astrolabe that is" He finished quickly looking over at Myka who had turned her head sharply towards him.

"We should all get to bed. Alarms set for 10am? That way we can get at least a couple hours of sleep and maybe an early lunch before heading back to the Warehouse. Agreed?" Myka said, already walking towards the staircase.

"Agreed" "Sounds good" "Yep yep" were all chorused to her back as she moved up the stairs to her room. Myka heard three sets of footsteps behind her before realizing that Helena wasn't following. Myka turned back in time to watch Helena move towards the library.

_What's she doing? We all need some sleep. Shit, she doesn't have a room anymore. I'll set her up on the couch….Or she could stay with you? No, no, that's way inappropriate and she already shot you down remember? Regardless of her reasons she doesn't want to spend the night with you…_

By this time Myka had made it to her room and tossed her bag into the corner. She kicked off her shoes and slowly started pealing her clothes off. The movement of taking off her shirt caused her muscles to burn in protest.

_I am so sore. Too little sleep and a little too much snag, bagging and tagging I guess. _Myka thought to herself as she pulled on her pajama shorts, finished with getting dressed.

_ I should probably check on her. I mean even if she rejected me it doesn't mean I don't care about her. _With that Myka grabbed a spare blanket out of her closet and a pillow from her bed and headed downstairs. It had only been 20 or so minutes but already all the lights under the doors were off and it was clear from the silence in the house that everyone had gone to bed.

_Everyone but me…and Helena_, Myka thought reaching the closed library door that had light streaming from underneath it.

Myka didn't bother to knock on the door, whether from not wanting to make any noise to wake the others or because she was scared Helena would tell her to go away, she wasn't sure and she chose not to really think about it.

The open door revealed Helena reclining on one of the small couches with a book in her hands. She stopped reading and made eye contact with Myka with a questioning look.

Myka stood there frozen for a few seconds, thrown by having Helena's full attention on her after what had seemed like, and probably was, hours of not meeting her gaze.

_SAY SOMETHING._

"I brought you a blanket and a pillow. Your room isn't here and I figured you wouldn't want to stay in Leena's room soooo I thought the couch would work? Or I mean you could take my bed and I could take the couch or something…" Myka tried, and failed, to explain smoothly

_Please be more of a spaz, that's exactly what you need right now. _

"Thank you Darling, I appreciate the thought but alas I don't think I'll be able to get any sleep tonight. I find that my thoughts lie elsewhere," Helena responded. She did get up from her seat and take the items from Myka's hands however, giving Myka a chance to see what she was reading.

"_A Tale of Two Cities_? Dickens is an interesting choice."

"I find that I quite enjoy his writing, more so than I ever did in my past life," Helena responded.

_That __**would**__ be the book she chooses to read in a time like this. _

"Well thank you for the concern my dear. You should go get some sleep. I'm sure you're tired from your journey and the events of the last few days. You deserve a break."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. We're under such a time constraint and there's so much at stake and I just…we just need to find a solution you know?" Myka replied earnestly. It was unnerving that Helena seemed so calm during all of this.

_She's probably just trying to put on a brave face for all of us. _

"Alright. I'll head up to bed then….goodnight and please try and get some rest. We have to be at the top of our game if we're going to figure this out."

"Goodnight Darling. Sleep well," Helena said. Myka had turned and walked towards the door but looked back and held Helena's gaze for a few moments before walking out and closing the door behind her. Myka could've sworn she saw a deep sadness in Helena's eyes before the emotion was swiftly locked away behind her eyes.

Myka climbed into bed, leaving the light on and looked around her room absently until her eyes landed on the book she had been reading before leaving for the mission.

_The Time Machine_.

The title brought some tears to her eyes and she quickly turned off her lamp. _I don't know why I ever thought I had a chance of not falling in love with her. _

With that thought Myka rolled away from her side table and curled up under her covers.

_I won't let you become Sydney, Helena Wells…._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Life has been busy. I wrote this kind of quickly so please excuse and grammar or spelling errors. I may go back and tweak it later but figured I'd post it asap.

* * *

_I think I've gotten a better night's sleep on rocks than I did last night. _Myka thought as she turned off her blaring alarm clock. Myka had spent the whole night tossing and turning with dreams of fire, ticking clocks and a pair of soulful brown eyes staring back at her.

_Today's the day. Today's the day we find a solution. _Myka went about her morning routine, getting dressed, brushing her teeth and brushing her hair before heading downstairs to meet the – _hopefully awake - _team.

The team had already assembled downstairs and were eating their respective breakfasts quietly. Helena was absent however. The somber mood from the day before still remained. Pete was pushing his cereal around in his bowl and looked up as Myka entered. "Morning Mykes. We were able to scrounge up some cereal and there's stuff for pancakes if you want to make them. None of us really thought about breakfast until…" Pete trailed off suddenly uncomfortable.

"Until you realized it wasn't going to be already made for you? That no one was here to feed you?" Claudia interjected angrily.

"Hey, hey! I just meant that…that I miss Leena. I know she's gone but it's like I forget for half a second and then something in this place reminds me. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry" Pete responded sincerely.

Claudia looked down at her lap and looked abashed. "Look Pete-man, I'm sorry for that. I'm just on edge and didn't sleep much. I know you didn't mean anything by that. I think it's the same for all of us. I keep expecting her to just walk through that door. Hell I keep expecting Artie to just walk through that door. You know with all his faux ire and grumpiness, telling us we have a ping and accusing us of purposefully eating our breakfasts too slowly or something."

If the mood wasn't somber before it sure was now. Claudia appeared to be near tears at this point and abruptly got up and walked to the kitchen.

"I'll go after her. Leave in 15? It's almost 11." Steve asked Myka, who had been working her way around the table getting a bowl of cereal.

"Yeah that sounds good. And Steve? There's not a lot you'll be able to say to her to make it better but just being there really does help." Steve nodded to her and followed Claudia.

Myka started to eat her cereal but quickly found that she just wasn't hungry. She began looking around the living room, trying to subtly peak into the adjoining rooms. _Got to keep on a brave face. Can't let the others know how upset I am by th-_

"She's in the library still Myka." Pete said with some amusement in his voice. _Busted. _"She came out just before you came downstairs, got some toast and then went back in there."

"Oh okay, thanks Pete. I'll just let her know that we're leaving in about 10 minutes." Myka responded.

"Sounds good."

Myka got up from the kitchen and walked towards the library. _Hmm I wonder what she's reading now…_

* * *

"Good morning darling," Helena said once she looked up and saw that Myka had walked into the library. She was sitting on the same couch as last night sans book and appeared to have just finished up her breakfast.

_Hmm she doesn't look like she got any sleep last night if the bags under her eyes are any indication. And she's still so beautiful. _

_Fuck. _

"Good morning Helena. Didn't sleep well?"

"Not particularly. Though that seems to be a trait shared by many of us this morning. Forgive me for saying this my dear, but you look dreadfully tired as well. Perhaps we should all stay here and rest for longer so that everyone receives a much deserved break?" Helena responded.

"What? No, of course not. I actually just came in here to tell you that we'll be leaving in about 5 minutes to head back to the Warehouse. We're not going to stop until we find a solution Helena, I promise." Myka said earnestly.

Helena broke eye contact with Myka for a second and just gave a soft if pained smile. "Thank you Myka. I appreciate your concern. Now come along we should go meet the others out in the hall." With that Helena stood up and made for the door, gesturing for Myka to exit before her. Myka tried to wipe the bewildered look from her face before walking through the doorway.

_Well that was abrupt._

* * *

_What is she looking at? She's just….staring into fucking space! _

Myka had once again noticed that Helena wasn't researching or even pretending to shuffle papers around but was just playing with her locket looking off into the distance.

_Or what would be the distance if it wasn't the Warehouse office wall. Why isn't she looking for an answer? No matter how smart she is she's not going to find the it just thinking about it. She seems…bored. _

"Helena? Is there anything I can help you with? You seem a little…distracted." Myka called out to her.

"Oh. No darling, I am quite alright. Just…pondering things." Helena responded. She smiled at Myka and turned in her chair towards the papers on the desk and started rifling through them. However another 20 minutes passed – _Shit it's already 1:47? It feels like we just got here. We're running out of time – _and Helena had gone back to just staring off into space.

_Is she kidding with this? We've been working for hours on trying to find a solution to save HER life…and the world… and she can't even be bothered to help?!_

Myka was tired, run down and emotionally drained. Perhaps that's why she finally cracked. That or the fact that Pete's pencil drum solo had been slowly drilling into her brain for the last 3 minutes and showed no signs of stopping. Whatever the cause, Myka had finally had enough.

"Are you not even going to bother to look at all?! If you don't give a damn about finding a solution or all that we are trying to do could you at least pretend?! At least pretend that you want to stay here with me! With all of us! And for fucks sake Pete can you stop with the one man band! I'll snap all the pencils within your reach if I have to!" Myka finished with a huff, throwing up her hands. She had been yelling and when she was finished the office was deathly quiet.

"Myka my dear, I'm sor-"

"No! No. Just, just save it okay? I don't want to hear any half-assed excuse as to why you're not researching. I'm done. Really and truly, I am done." With that Myka ran out of the office into the umbilicus.

"Woah! H.G., Myka is pissed!" Claudia said after practically picking her jaw up off the ground. The whole room had been in a stunned silence until she had broken it.

"I can see that Claudia."

"I'll go talk to her. She can't have gotten far." Pete said with a slight huff. "She forgot to grab the car keys. Maybe not the best exit." He got up and moved towards the door but Helena stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

"No Peter. I'll go after her. As you all heard, I have some explaining to do."

"Are you sure? I don't think it's a good idea. You've obviously hurt her pretty bad. We all know how…close the two of you are and-"

"Trust me Peter. I…I will do my best to set this right." Helena brushed past Pete and into the umbilicus.

"Maybe I should go and play chaperone?" Pete asked, turning around to face Steve and Claudia.

"No man, I think they've got to work this out on their own. Obviously things have been festering for a bit." Steve replied, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Well then can we at least-"

"No Pete. We can't turn on the video feed to outside to watch. Waaaaay creepy. Besides we owe it to them to respect their privacy" Claudia said, cutting him off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

* * *

_I can't believe I just flipped out like that. Dear lord Myka you can't even keep it together enough to not scream at her? In front of everybody? Ugh can this get any worse?!_

Myka then discovered that she left the keys to the SUV inside.

_This isn't happening. This can't be real life. _

Helena walked out of the door to the Warehouse and made eye contact with a pacing and crying Myka.

_And the blows just keep on coming._

"Stay away from me Helena. I can't take this right now."

"Darling please"

"Dammit Helena do NOT darling me. Not right now. Not ever again." Myka let out a scoffing laugh while wiping away some of her tears. "For however long "ever" is in this timeline."

"Fine. But instead of yelling at me maybe you can tell me why you are so angry? I understand that things are stressful but Myka you just started screaming at Pete and me out of nowhere. That is not you. Please, please Myka just tell me what is wrong." Helena was pleading with her by now and had walked closer to her, within arm's reach, if Helena dared to reach out that is. She didn't.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! Helena we are all in there working so incredibly hard, after what has to be one of the roughest weeks of my life, of all of our lives to try and save the world. To try and save you and you're not even helping. It's like you don't care…" Fresh tears started to fall down Myka's face.

"I'm so sorry Myka. I have been incredibly selfish. I don't want to waste what time I have left searching vainly for some kind of answer to our problem."

"What do you mean vainly? We can still find an answer Helena! We just, all of us, need to keep looking!"

"No Myka. There is no other answer than the astrolabe."

"But the Regents said-"

"They lied. It has already been decided Myka. The decision was reached almost unanimously by the Regents as soon as the situation was assessed. This extra time is a…a courtesy of sorts to Mrs. Frederic. And to me I suppose but I suspect mostly to her." Helena said with a rueful smile. "They are giving her time to say her goodbyes and come to terms with the idea. Even if we won't remember this timeline, they feel like they owe it to her. Hence the time window. And then we will destroy the astrolabe and reverse all that has happened."

_Yep. Not real life. It's over. We can't save her. I can't save her. She's going to die. Not that I'll remember any of this. This isn't happening, this isn't happ-_

"Well we can still try can't we? It's not as if the Regents wouldn't even consider a better option if we found one! All we have to do is keep looking, find something and we can fix this! We just need to try harder-"

"Myka! I am done trying. Don't you see? I am so tired Myka. I am so, so tired of trying."

"What are you saying?" _She doesn't want to try anymore? She's just giving up?_

"I'm saying…that we have a solution and we should accept it. We could all go back to the Warehouse and, I don't know, watch a movie. I haven't seen very many movies. Or perhaps just relax and read a book…" Helena said trailing off. Myka's face had an incredulous look on it.

"So you really are just giving up? Just accepting this? Don't think I don't see what this is. You're looking for a way out. This is just a way to end it, isn't it?"

Helena refused to make eye contact with Myka, choosing to look at the South Dakota landscape instead. Myka had tears in her eyes again, from anger or sadness or both, she couldn't tell. She walked up to Helena, grabbed her by her shoulders and started to lightly shake her.

_This isn't how I want to hold her in my arms._

"Isn't it!? Answer me!" Myka choked out over a sob.

"Dammit Myka! Could you blame me!? I am so exhausted. Not just physically but mentally from all that has happened since I was debronzed. There hasn't been a moments rest in years! I don't belong here. I am a woman displaced by time and circumstance. But you are wrong. This is not a way for me to commit suicide. This is a way to give my death some meaning. Whether anyone remembers it or not at least I will know, even at the last moment that I died doing something good for this world. Dying to contribute to the good of this world that I railed against for so long." Helena had reluctant tears in her eyes as well by this point and was gripping Myka by the elbows.

"When will you get it through your thick Victorian skull that you, all of you, is good! Not just when you're being noble and dying for a cause but just you. Just Helena Georgia Wells. I swear I'm in love with an idiot sometimes. It's like you don't even listen. I get you feel out of place Helena but dammit we can work this out. You have a family here with all of us and at the Warehouse and I know if we could just find some way to fix this that you could make it work again. You could figure out this world and be a part of it and stop running so much and we would be here to help. I would be here to help you through it. You can't just give up. You owe yourself more than that! You owe me more than that!" Myka's rant came to a sudden end, after plenty of yelling and flailing of arms.

_I didn't just say that. Oh my god I didn't just say that lo-_

"Did you just say that you're in love with me?" Helena asked. Her face was difficult to read for Myka but looked like a crossed between disbelief, happiness and just a touch of fear.

"I mean…I may have? I'm sorry Helena. I know that you didn't want to listen to me and my feelings and why would you? I mean you're Helena Wells, I've been enamored with your writing since I was a kid and you're just so much more beautiful than Charles and I can't believe I'm saying all of this. I'm so sorry, I

"Myka-"

"Like I shouldn't presume that even if we did find an answer that you would want to stay here with us, with me. Who do I think I am?"

"Myka!"

"Even if you did feel the same way it seems like things are never easy at the Warehouse and definitely never been easy for us, gunpoint , the trident and Emily fucking Lake but- umph!"

Helena grabbed Myka by the sides of her face and crushed their lips together. Definitely not what a first kiss between the two should have been like.

_But perfect none the less_.

Myka didn't even have time to respond before Helena had pulled away.

"Do shut up my dear," Helena said with a slight chuckle before kissing Myka again slowly this time, both of them getting to savor and relish the feel of the other's lips. Myka's hands found Helena's waist and pulled her close until their bodies were flush to one another. They both knew that when they stopped reality would still be there.

_But it is nice to suspend it, if just for a little while. _


	6. Chapter 6

"Well….that was unexpected," Myka said a little breathily.

Only a few minutes had passed since their initial kiss and both women were still reeling from the fact that it had actually happened.

_Finally happened. _

They had drifted closer to each other during the kiss and Helena was slowly running her hands up and down the small of Myka's back. Their foreheads were barely touching and Helena had felt Myka's breath across her lips when Myka had spoken.

"Yes, it seems I got caught up in the moment darling. I apologize," Helena finally responded. She tried to step back out of Myka's arms but Myka stopped her, pulling her closer until their bodies were flush.

_Oh no you don't. _

Helena didn't try and fight her but instead wrapped her arms around Myka even more tightly and buried her face into her neck.

"I didn't mean for this to happen you know. But I'd be lying if I said that I haven't wanted this for a very long time…" Helena said quietly, tickling Myka's neck in the process.

Myka released a sigh of contentment and nuzzled the side of her face against the soft hair of Helena's head. "So have I. For so long Helena….Why did you…why didn't you want this though? I mean I get that if we can't find an answer besides the astrolabe that this timeline won't have happened but…if we can find an answer, find a way to fix this then we can have this. We can be an us…" Myka stated trailing off.

She pulled back from Helena, making eye contact. "Isn't that worth fighting for? Aren't we?" Myka said quietly.

"Myka…My darling Myka you have always been worth fighting for," Helena responded, running her fingers along Myka's jaw. "That's…that's what I'm afraid of. Myka I am terrified of what I might do. What I might do in the name of fighting for us."

"What are you talking about? If there aren't any artifacts that can save the world, save you, then what…" Myka countered.

_What is she talking about? _

"I…I didn't want to start any of this with you because I'm scared that I'm going to be selfish. I'm scared that I'll do whatever it takes to save you…and to be with you. Especially after this Myka," Helena turned away from her. "knowing that you love me too…I was scared that it would make this harder. Make it harder to let you go and to go through with destroying the astrolabe."

"What do you mean?" Myka had reached forward and touched Helena's shoulder.

Helena turned around and Myka could see an intensity in her eyes that, while not quite scaring her, made her think back to all the moments Helena had spoken about her daughter and fighting against the "indelible ink" that the past was written in.

_Definitely not a comforting look._

"I mean Myka that it would be so easy…so very easy to take you away from here. To go into the Escher vault, take back the astrolabe and run away with you…willing at the time or otherwise. I am confident that I could keep us both alive through this sweating sickness. We're young and healthy, we could isolate ourselves and I can try and create something in a lab that would help us survive until our own immune systems fought it off." Helena finished looking at Myka. She had been speaking quickly and her voice had taken on an almost pleading quality.

"Helena…I…I wouldn't want that. The world…so many people would die, our friends would die."

"I know that Myka. The rational part of me knows that. That it would be wrong, that the world doesn't deserve that. But there's the other small part of me that wants to save you…that needs to keep you safe, no matter the cost. Despite knowing that it isn't what you want. And Myka I am so scared of that part of me. I am so scared that I'll lose myself again and take us away. That is why I didn't want to explore this between us. I love you Myka. And I'm trying to be the woman I know I can be, the woman we both want me to be but it's so bloody difficult." Helena had tears welling in her eyes by this point.

Myka's heart felt like it was breaking. "Helena, baby, you are that woman. The fact that you're standing here, telling me about how desperately you want to be good shows me that you are! I know, whether you believe it or not, that you would never go through with it Helena. That you wouldn't condemn the world just for us. The same way I knew at Yellowstone. Come here Helena." Myka pulled Helena into her arms and held her close.

They stood there for another 5 minutes, just holding each other and trying to convey the love and trust they had in each other.

"We should go back to the B&B darling. I…I am not going to succumb to these desires. I will be stronger than them." Helena said, playing with the ends of Myka's curly hair.

"You really don't want to keep trying and look for an artifact that can help us?" Myka countered.

"My dear I've already told you, there is no other answer. We will not find another way to stop this at the last moment, there will be no miracles happening." Helena's voice had taken on a sad tone and Myka felt tears welling up in her eyes all over again.

"But what I do know, is that the only thing worse than being…gone soon would be knowing that I didn't spend whatever time I had left with the people I love." Myka looked up sharply at Helena's words. "Myka, let's go back to the B&B, please. I want to make up for the time we've already lost. I want to make up for the time we...we have been robbed of. Do this for me. Please. " Helena was looking earnestly at Myka.

_I can't deny her anything can I?_

"Okay. Okay. Let's go back to the B&B. We can call the others when we get there. But I'm going to ask them to keep looking Helena."

"Myka-"

"No Helena. Don't ask me to give up just yet. I know I won't be able to focus on anything if we go back in there but the others should keep trying. Even if there's no hope…" Helena's heart clenched at the sadness in Myka's voice but she didn't change her mind. She was going to be dead soon, and even if she wouldn't remember this time with Myka in the other timeline, she would be damned if she missed her chance for it now. Myka had kissed her. Myka loved her. There was no going back. No pretending that there was nothing between them. No matter her fears.

"Alright my love." Myka blushed at hearing those words. "I understand, we can talk about it later. Let's go back to the B&B? Perhaps I can even convince you to lay down?"

"A nap does sound really nice. I'm kind of tired." Myka said, moving closer to Helena to reach for the spare SUV keys dangling out of her pocket.

Helena beat her to it, stepping in for a quick but not quite so chaste kiss. "Who said anything about a nap darling?" Helena said with a smirk. Helena then slipped the keys into Myka's hands and walked around to the passenger seat of the car. Myka was grateful for the much needed levity and smiled back at her, although she could feel her face burning.

_She's going to be the death of me. _

Myka climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV and started the car. Helena reached over the center divide and placed her hand on Myka's thigh, rubbing small circles with her thumb. Myka looked over and met Helena's loving gaze, both women smiling at each other.

_But what a way to go. _


End file.
